Dalila Silmi binti Sidi Aman (MIC 190007)

GIG1005 SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT Reflective Writing

Dalila Silmi binti Sidi Aman (MIC 190007) Date: 27/4/2020

BEFORE:

GIG 1005 Social Engagement is one of the University Course which is compulsory for the students to enroll. The first time I heard that we will be conducting a special programme with  several selected high schools for our Social Engagement course, I was very delighted since it was a rare opportunity indeed to be engaging with such a community.Apparently, our fieldwork for the voluntarism would be with high school students and the selected high schools are Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Lembah Subang, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sri Pantai, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sultan Abdul Samad and Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sri Aman. A group of 28 Biomedical Science students including me were assigned to SMK Sri Pantai with Akmal as our leader. Such exposure to the community is essential for us in order to achieve our course proforma which is to demonstrate the awareness of the importance of social engagement and to develop the ability to work in a team and with the society. For starters, we are required to prepare a module on “The Secret of Life: DNA” which focusing on the introduction of DNA, the hereditary genetic material in humans and almost all other organisms. Thus, a PowerPoint with the estimation of 15 to 20 minutes presentation, ‘post workshop’ survey and interactive quizzes need to be constructed. The ‘post workshop’ survey is going to be distributed among the students as a method to measure the impact of the module on the students. Interactive quizzes are made to test the students comprehension on the module presented. All of these materials are going to be used during the fieldwork. A blog to upload photos, videos and reflective essays is specially developed for better documentation. So, for our first slot, we were required to attend an internal workshop on 13 of March 2020. The workshop are carried out as a preparation workshop so that we have the idea and the flow of how the contents are going to be conducted in the real event at SMK Sri Pantai. The module started with seminar session, followed by hands on experiment, quizzes and sharing session. The highlight of the internal workshop for me is probably when we were thought on how to fold our own foldscope, an affordable paper microscope that you can assemble yourself. It is interesting as it was the first time I assemble and handle a foldscope. I am very bad at making origamis, so I thought that I won’t be able to follow those complicated steps. To my surprise, I was able to finish it quite splendidly, thank goodness.

DURING

However, as the days went by and the date for the field trip is approaching closer, we decided that it is best to find an alternative method in order to conduct our Social Engagement course due to the worsen case of Coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19). Prohibition of visiting at the time causes us to unable to deliver the content to the school physically. Therefore, instead of proceeding with the initially planned field work for the students, we decided to turn to the alternative method and new tasks were assigned. The tasks included one video preparation covering the proper method to hand washing, info graphic posters of COVID-19 virus and effective hand washing and online survey. Electronic survey by using Google form is conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude and hand washing among Biomedical Science students from year 1,2,3 and 4. Through the already created platform, the blog, we could reach to the school community. These materials are then going to be posted on the blog. The link will be shared with the teachers of SMK Sri Pantai so that their school community have the access to the blog. First, we divided our group into several small groups in order to distribute the tasks . I was included into a team of 6 which is responsible for preparing an info graphic poster on how to wash our hands properly and effectively. I am proud of the outcome of our poster as I am not as skilled in poster making. Trying my hands on this task enable me to discover my hidden ability and I am content. 

AFTER  

It is really disheartening to know that the previously anticipated fieldwork had to be canceled.  Although we were not able to physically engage with the students, I really hope that the videos, info graphic posters and online survey questions that we have prepared served they purpose, that is: creating awareness among the school community. In fact, it would have been much more better if those mediums that we had  prepared on the blog proved to be beneficial to others too, whether it is our own Biomedical Science students or anybody else. Knowing the proper way to wash our hands and practicing them daily is essential in order to prevent illness. During this challenging period, everybody needs to play their role in order to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. As a good resident in our community, here are some Dos and Don’ts to stay safe from covid-19 virus:

1. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for 20-seconds.Use alcohol-based hand sanitizer instead if soap and water are not available.

2. Practice ‘social distancing’ – maintain at least 1 metre distance between you and anyone who is coughing or sneezing.

3. Stay home as much as possible to reduce your risk of being exposed. Always wear a face mask when you have to go outside.

4. Seek medical treatment if you have symptoms of cough or flu and clearly explain your travel history to the doctor.

5. Prevent yourself from touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Your hands touch many surfaces and can pick up viruses and once contaminated, hands can transfer the virus to your eyes, nose or mouth where the virus can enter your body.

With these reminder, I hope that everyone will stay healthy and safe. Let us fight our way to a coronavirus-free community in the future!

(997 Words)